Tickets for the Christo presentation and dialogue on April 13 are selling fast—be sure to get yours before it’s too late!  For over forty years, Christo and Jeanne-Claude have collaborated on large-scale art projects using fabric in both urban and rural environments. This memorable evening will begin with Christo’s presentation focusing on the artists’ previous and upcoming temporary works of art, followed by an open question and answer session and book signing.  The event will take place at Memminger Auditorium (56 Beaufain Street) and tickets are $25 for members, $35 for non-members, and $15 for students.  For more information and to purchase tickets, click here or call (843) 722-2706, ext. 22.

Christo: The Gates, Central Park, New York City, 1996, Collage in two parts, pencil, fabric, pastel, charcoal, wax crayon, and aerial photograph, © Christo 1996

See this work by Christo in the upcoming Gibbes exhibition Modern Masters from the Ferguson Collection, on view April 30 – August 22, 2010.

adminmarla    Mar.09.2010    Uncategorized    No Comments »

Join us on Sunday, March 7 at 3pm for the Charleston Chamber Opera’s presentation of Whistler’s Women – Songs on a Life Well Traveled. The beautiful Gibbes rotunda will be the setting for Soprano Patrice Tiedemann, Mezzo Soprano Lara Wilson, and Baritone Paul Soper as they explore the life and loves of James Whistler with a clever mix of art song, opera, and theatrical flair. Enjoy gorgeous melodies from Debussy, Saint-Saens, Mahler, Gilbert & Sullivan, and others, as the singers portray Whistler and his women in song and verse. The hour-long program is interwoven with narration by actress Terry Bell-Aby, with piano accompaniment by musical director Steven Morris. 

Tickets at $10 for members, $20 for non-members, and advance ticket purchase is strongly recommended.  Sorry folks, this event has sold out!

adminmarla    Mar.01.2010    Programs    No Comments »

Ashley Hall students in Jane Pelland’s 7^th grade classes enjoyed two days of the Gibbes Behind the Scenes program during their Winterim. Zinnia Willits, Collections Manager, and Greg Jenkins, Facilities Manager, led the program. The students enjoyed learning about the care of art work, exhibition installation, and the various duties of the museum’s curatorial staff. 

Interested in booking this program for your group? Contact Rebecca Williams at (843) 722-2706, ext. 41.

adminmarla    Feb.25.2010    Behind the scenes, Education, Programs    No Comments »

Calling all art educators! You have until March 1 to apply for the 2010 Mary Whyte Art Educator Award. Established in 2007, the Award is designed to honor a visual art teacher in the tri-county area (Berkeley, Charleston, and Dorchester school districts) who has demonstrated superior commitment to their students and to their craft. The award is accompanied by a cash prize of $1,000 and is administered and presented annually by the Gibbes. 

Nominations are accepted from principals, school administrators, fellow teachers, and community leaders. Self nominations are also accepted, click here for more information and how to apply.

Smith Coleman, Mary Whyte, 2009 winner Dayton Colie, and Angela Mack

adminmarla    Feb.22.2010    Awards, Education    No Comments »

Join the Gibbes this Saturday, February 20, for our free Jr. League of Charleston Community Day from 10am to 1pm. Inspired by the current exhibition Lure of the Lowcountry in which artist John Folsom’s mixed media photographs are paired with early Lowcountry landscapes from the Gibbes collection, this Community Day will focus on nature. Families can enjoy nature inspired art-making activities throughout the morning. Scheduled happenings include a musical performance by students from Memminger Elementary at 10:30am and a book reading by author Christi Sanford from her Legare the Lizard series at 11:15am.

Cumberland Island Cemetery, 2009, by John Folsom

adminmarla    Feb.19.2010    Community Day, Events    No Comments »

Last month, members enjoyed a preview of the Gibbes’ current exhibitions, Lure of the Lowcountry, mixed-media photographs by John Folsom, and Whistler’s Travels, etchings and lithographs by James McNeill Whistler.

With artist John Folsom in attendance for the preview and reception, it was an exciting evening full of socialization and appreciation for the inspiring new works on view.

Special thanks to the Women’s Council for hosting the opening reception along with the contributions from Bar Belles and In Good Taste. Exhibition previews and openings are only for members of the Gibbes. If you are interested in joining, please click here.

Featured artist John Folsom and Jack Alterman

Laura Gates, Alice Wyatt, Marnie Chardon, and Harriet Smartt

Executive Director Angela Mack and Rebekah Jacob

Diane De Angelis and John Folsom

John and Jeannette Alexander with Ginny and Ted Brush

Jill and John Chalsty

Coco Matola, Steve Matola, Paul Kohlheim, and Marilyn Colen

adminmarla    Feb.18.2010    Events, Uncategorized    No Comments »

Calling all young artists! Join the Gibbes for a great summer of creative fun at our 2010 Summer Art Camp. Work with practicing artists and museum teachers, explore the museum’s galleries for inspiration, and create your own fantastic artwork! This summer, artists can choose from three themes: In the Forest, Go Global, and Art Story. Sessions are available for children ages 4-7 and ages 8-12. Space is limited, so register today!

Click here for registration information. For questions or more information, please contact Rebecca Williams at (843) 722-2706, ext. 41.

adminmarla    Feb.09.2010    Education    No Comments »

Did you know that works from the Gibbes Museum of Art are currently hanging in museums in Philadelphia and Houston? Since February 2008, the painting, Ms. Johnson (Estelle), by Barkley Hendricks (American, b. 1945), has been traveling in the major exhibition, Barkley L. Hendricks: Birth of the Cool. Organized by The Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Birth of the Cool is the artist’s first career retrospective and is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue. While Ms. Johnson is missed, we are proud that over the past two years more than 75,000 people have seen this painting at institutions across the country including the Studio Museum in Harlem, the Santa Monica Museum of Art, and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. The exhibition is currently on view at the Contemporary Arts Museum in Houston, Texas. We look forward to her return in May 2010. You can be sure she will have good travel stories. 

Ms. Johnson (Estelle), by Barkley Hendricks

If you find yourself in Philadelphia between February and August, 2010, check out the Gibbes portrait of Mrs. Charles Cotesworth Pinckney (Sarah Middleton) by Henry Benbridge at the National Constitution Center. 

Mrs. Charles Cotesworth Pinckney (Sarah Middleton), ca. 1774, by Henry Benbridge

This striking painting features prominently in the exhibition, Ancient Rome & America, which showcases the cultural, political, and social connections between ancient Rome and modern America. Sarah Middleton Pinckney is exhibited among a collection of rare artifacts and artwork borrowed from major museums in both the United States and Italy. The exhibition runs from February 19 through August 1, 2010. 

Loans from our collection are also on view at venues closer to home. Don’t miss the Gibbes painting of Mary Ann Bentham (Mrs. Thomas Grange Simons) by Thomas Wightman and the miniature portrait of Mrs. Nathaniel Russell Middleton (Anna Elizabeth De Wolf), 1842 by Anne Hall, featured in Aisle Style: 150 Years of Wedding Fashion at the Charleston Museum through September 2010. 

Miniature portrait of Mrs. Nathaniel Russell Middleton (Anna Elizabeth De Wolf) currently on loan to The Charleston Museum

One behind-the-scenes note about objects on loan: before a piece from the collection is approved for loan to another institution, the curatorial staff must review the object’s condition to make sure it is stable enough to make the trip. An in-depth condition assessment of Mrs. Charles Cotesworth Pinckney revealed that the painting itself was in good condition however the original 18^th century frame had a few issues. As a result, the National Constitution Center paid for the necessary frame conservation as a requirement of loan. Nancy Newton, a frame conservator and gilder here in Charleston, worked on the frame to stabilize flaking gilt and fill areas of loss.  The painting with newly conserved frame left for Philadelphia in late January.

Mrs. Pinckney traveled to Philadelphia in this custom-built crate

adminmarla    Feb.02.2010    Behind the scenes    No Comments »

Join the Gibbes and the Charleston Library Society each week for Toddler Tuesdays.  Designed for children ages 18 months to 5 years, this program includes story time and art-making activities.  Toddler Tuesdays are free of charge and available exclusively for members of the Gibbes and the Charleston Library Society.  Click here to join the Gibbes. 

Toddler Tuesdays

10:15 – 11:00am

Held at the Charleston Library Society, 164 King Street

No reservations required

adminmarla    Jan.25.2010    Uncategorized    No Comments »

Join the Gibbes for another great program on February 4 as author and art consultant Barbara Guggenheim presents a lecture titled How the Art World Works: New Twists on the World’s Oldest Profession.  The lecture begins at 6pm and will be followed by a reception at 7pm. 

Guggenheim is a partner in the national firm of art consultants, Guggenheim, Asher Associates. She holds a doctorate in Art History, has taught on the university level, was head lecturer at the Whitney Museum of American Art, and has worked at both Sotheby’s and Christie’s. Through her consulting company, Guggenheim has advised corporations such as Coca-Cola and Sony, and individuals, including celebrities such as Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg. 

For more information and to purchase tickets, please click here.

Barbara Guggenheim

adminmarla    Jan.19.2010    Uncategorized    No Comments »